Impressions
by Axie Flamesilocks
Summary: They've met Sora, they've met Kairi, and now the Twilight gang meets Riku. Long story short, he isn't what they expected. Experimental characterization. No 'ships right now, but it'll turn into HaynerxRiku if it continues.


A/N: So. I just noticed the potential for a Hayner/Riku coupling, and while this doesn't really head in that direction, you could kind of look at it like that. This is more experimentation than anything else—but also just to get something kind of Hayku out there (that's what I'm calling it, deal) because I haven't found anything with these two on ff.n and that's _sinful_.

* * *

"Sora's here!"

There was rarely more warning than that, and Hayner was honestly surprised to find that the Keymaster didn't duck into the usual spot just behind Olette, the way he usually did. "Lies and heresy," Pence said simply from where he was slumped on the box across from Hayner, and the blond afforded his best friend a snicker.

"They're coming, you know them…" Olette glanced behind her and let the curtain fall back. "He's brought friends! Kairi's with him, and you remember that Riku guy he was always talking about?" Her eyelids fluttered and she clasped her hands together like an orange-tinted, Capri-shod princess. "He's _gorgeous._"

"Ewww, 'Lette, where'd you pick up those cooties? Kairi?" Hayner groaned, but he was only being half-serious.

She glared at him anyway. "Oh grow up."

"Bet it was Kairi," Pence said.

"Hey, guys? Knock knock!" Sora called, punching at the curtain lightly, and Olette shoved it aside.

"Hey! C'mon in!"

"Long time no see," Pence remarked.

"You guys been okay? Where're the nuts?" Hayner added, noting the lack of Goofy and Donald.

"—different, you know—Hi! Nah, they had some stuff to do back with the ship," Sora explained, extracting himself from a conversation with the other two to do so. "You know them, always on about business…"

Riku was a lot taller than Hayner expected, and at least ten times more buff. When Sora came to them about Kairi, Hayner'd half-expected her to be a babe and he was right. Riku, on the other hand, had sounded like a helpless kid—probably a lot younger than Sora—who'd gotten dragged into the darkness by the breeches. This silver-haired _man_ didn't look like he'd ever needed saving, and seemed more protective of Sora than anything else. He'd stepped a bit closer to the Keymaster when they'd entered, and the friendly arm dangling around Sora's shoulders tightened as he surveyed the room with suspicious eyes, probably more out of habit than anything else.

A first impression generally colored everything after that, and Olette already seemed too absorbed in catching up with Kairi to really pay attention to Riku right now. Besides, Hayner definitely didn't need another Seifer around, so he vaulted off the box and approached with as much candid openness as he could muster. "Hey. I'm Hayner," he said, extending a hand.

Riku didn't for an instant let go of Sora to shake it. "Riku," he murmured, aquamarine eyes calculating behind that sheet of silver. Then he grunted and dipped faintly as Sora drove an elbow between his ribs. "Pleased to meet," he added, finally taking Hayner's hand. The blond had expected a firmer handshake from a guy who looked like he could be a bodybuilder, but either Riku's disinterest stopped him or he was a little dainty under all that muscle.

"Pence," Pence introduced himself quickly, sidestepping a handshake by punctuating it with a wave. "It's great to finally meet you! Any friend of Sora's is a friend of ours."

Riku shot him a look that would make Morgan Freeman feel cheesy. "…Yeah. You're definitely the kind of friends he makes."

"Sora's told us a lot about you," Hayner cut in, catching Sora shoot his friend a look out of the corner of his eye. He tried to relax a little, slipping his hands into his back pockets. "Anything going on now that all the excitement's died down?"

"Excitement's a funny word for it," Riku muttered.

"What Riku _means_ is, actually yeah," Sora said, and Hayner could practically see Riku fading out of the conversation right there. "We got this letter from the king—"

"Sora!" Kairi said then, her voice shrill with incredulity. "You haven't told these guys about _flying_?"

"Kairi—"

"Oh man, that's right!" Sora broke in, not really catching what Riku started to say. In fact, he said it so quietly that Hayner probably only caught it because he was paying attention to Riku's every move, like this was the china shop and Riku was the bull. Either way Sora was suddenly the center of attention over by the girls. "Okay listen, this was about a year ago so it's kinda hard for me to remember but there was this guy Peter…"

Pence was quick to join in the discussion, trying to reconcile the aerodynamics of human flight with Sora's claims of magic, while Olette listened with rapt attention and Kairi occasionally pressed for details. Hayner probably could have feigned interest, but the idea of flying had never really appealed—unless he could make Seifer jealous with it. Speaking of which, things weren't exactly going swimmingly with the potential Seifer No. 2, if Riku's attitude was any indication. Like with Sora, there was something about him that made Hayner a little nostalgic—but unlike with Sora, it wasn't as if he'd met Riku some long time ago. He just had a similar bearing to someone Hayner felt like he'd known once.

"I bet you've got better stories than he does," he said a little cheekily. Paying a compliment usually worked on a guy like this, and to tell the truth Hayner was more than a little interested in hearing from the mysterious Riku who Sora had been so obsessed over. "I mean, he was conked for a whole year, right? All kinds of stuff must've happened."

Riku studied him long enough to make Hayner uncomfortable before turning his gaze back to Sora. "I don't really think of it like that."

Hayner waited. _Okay. But. The idea was to get you talking. C'mon, guy…_ "Not a rival kind of thing, huh? Pence and I never had that either. Well, I think we used to…or…something, I don't know. Anyw—"

"Do you talk this much normally?" Riku asked bluntly.

"W…no, but—"

"Then act normally."

Hayner took a moment to blink at that, surprised at the fact that Riku didn't even hesitate to snub him, Sora's friend or no. "How about you act _nice_?" he shot back, crossing his arms and shooting Riku a glare as he started to turn back to the others. "I know you've been through hell or whatever, but I didn't think a conversation was too much to ask!"

"It's not. But you don't always get what you ask for."

Hayner probably would have pursued the issue if Sora hadn't addressed him just then and drawn him into the conversation, which had turned to schoolwork—probably Olette's fault. According to Sora, both he and Riku had fallen behind due to the year or so they spent out in the worlds, but they planned on working through the summer to get caught up. "It's weird to be in a class with Kairi, she's supposed to be the little one," Sora remarked, and got smacked lightly in retaliation.

"We've been together most of school," Olette put in. "But we really didn't get to be friends until about three years ago."

Pence sighed blissfully. "Pre-algebra…"

Hayner snorted. "That teacher was a _nutter._"

"He was brilliant."

"He flew the cuckoo's nest. Oh—you guys live in Destiny Islands, right?" the blond said then, effectively deflecting the conversation and winning the argument. "We've actually got a beach out here, too, and it can't be half as awesome as yours, but we should still go."

A funny look came over the Keymaster's face just then, and for some reason Hayner's breath caught in his throat. "…Yeah," Sora said in a voice that didn't sound quite like his—Hayner caught Riku shooting him an odd look. "I'd…like that."

"How long are you staying?" Olette asked.

Sora exchanged glances with the other two. "W…uhm…Donald and Goofy have all the munny, so…"

"You could stay with us!" the brunette suggested a little too quickly. "I've got room, if you and Kairi wanna room with me."

"That sounds like fun!" Kairi said immediately, but Sora's silver-haired best friend crossed his arms.

Pence seemed to share Riku's sentiments, because he made a sound like someone pricked him with a needle. "My aunts are coming over for a few days—mom's birthday is coming up, so…"

Hayner quietly damned his conscience to hell. "Um, I've got a bunk bed…"

"Then that's perfect!"

Sometimes he really hated Olette.

"W—um…" Sora glanced back and forth, clearly a little put off at being forced to choose. "Riku's kinda new here—Olette, d'you think Riku and I—?"

"Sure!"

"Better not do that."

Sometimes he really hated Pence, too.

"Olette's gonna be all over him, just check out her goo-goo eyes," the brown-haired boy pointed out with a devilish grin.

Olette rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide the streaks that lit up her cheeks. "Yeah right. You're _so mean_ sometimes…"

"You better stick with Kairi," Riku said to Sora then. "You know me, I'll be fine."

Sora hesitated. "You sure? I mean…"

"Oh no no, don't—it's not like I'm gonna do anything, it's just Pence being dumb, if you'd rather be with Sora…" Olette floundered, but she looked profoundly disappointed nonetheless.

"It's fine with me, Riku," Kairi said softly, but Riku shook his head.

"I can take care of myself." He ruffled Kairi's hair, features softening in a way Hayner hadn't seen them since he entered the usual spot. "It's Sora's job to watch this one."

"Nohoho, stop! You're messing it all up!" she protested amid giggles.

_Great._ Hayner sucked in a fortifying breath. "Alright, if we're decided. Clocktower? I figure there's some ice cream out there with our names on it."

"You're gonna get fat," Olette teased, falling in line with him as they started out of the usual spot and chatter broke out amongst them in little groups.

"No fatter than you," he shot back, prodding her in the side. "You're getting love handles. Guess that'll give Riku something to hang on to…"

"Ugh!" She shoved him playfully as Pence snickered on her left. "You guys, I _swear_…"

* * *

The day couldn't go by slowly enough, and Hayner had a feeling he would have enjoyed it a lot more, Riku or no Riku, if he hadn't known the silver-haired attitude problem was coming back to his place for the night. If his mom hadn't been out of town, it probably wouldn't have been an issue in the first place—she was quiet-natured and generally didn't like the apartment to be filled up, especially when it was cramped to begin with—but as long as she didn't find out Hayner figured he was okay. And as little as he was liking Riku, Sora and Kairi were worth putting up with him.

But that meant a long, stiff silence during the walk back from the clocktower. "So…you and Sora go way back, huh?" Hayner said finally, taking another stab at conversation.

"Since we were little."

"It's weird, I…" Hayner hesitated just long enough to wonder why he was bringing this up to Riku. "I keep feeling like I've met him before."

"You haven't."

Hayner looked at him sharply, a little put off by the immediate response. He wasn't really sure where he'd been going with it—maybe he was looking for some kind of reassurance, but that wasn't it.

Riku caught him looking and turned to face him. "I would've been there."

"Uh…right."

They walked on in silence until they got to Hayner's apartment building. "What about Kairi? Have you known her all that long?"

"You remember what I told you about acting normally?"

Hayner felt like his brain was going to explode. "How much more normal can I _act_?!"

Riku shot him a deadpan look from behind silver bangs. "You're acting fake. I don't trust you."

"Wh—that—but…!" What probably infuriated Hayner even more was the fact that Riku didn't stop walking until it became abundantly clear that Hayner wasn't following. The silver-haired boy turned to shoot him an almost quizzical look, his hands buried in his deep pockets and his arms akimbo. "Of course I'm acting fake!" Hayner said finally, stalking back over to him. "That's what people do when they first meet! They act differently!"

Riku shrugged. "I don't."

_This guy is IMPOSSIBLE!_

"I've had enough of fake," Riku said before Hayner could retort. "If it's not real, don't say it to me."

So Hayner didn't say anything. He led Riku up the stairs without a word and down the hall to room 305, and finally, as he was turning the key in the lock, he looked up and shot Riku a glare. "You're an asshole, you know that?" he said finally, letting the door fall open.

Riku shot him a very direct look just then, like he'd just noticed Hayner's very presence, and for an instant Hayner was sure the guy was going to hit him. But then Riku's face broke into a smile as natural as any one of Sora's, if not as brilliant. "No," he said, "I'm Riku."

He extended a hand.

"Hi."


End file.
